


Have and Hold

by Castrealm



Series: KaneHide - Lost and Found [2]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alpha Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Background Relationships, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Intersex Hide, Light Angst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Omega Nagachika Hideyoshi, Original Child Character(s) - Freeform, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24590641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castrealm/pseuds/Castrealm
Summary: Takes place almost two years after the events of ‘Give and Take’.Kaneki and Hide finally get their little miracle, and can now begin a life of fulfillment as parents.
Relationships: Kaneki Ken | Sasaki Haise/Nagachika Hideyoshi
Series: KaneHide - Lost and Found [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777486
Comments: 24
Kudos: 96





	1. The Good Lamps

**Author's Note:**

> I need a break from having Kaneki being mean to Hide… Time to write some domestic fluff! :)

When Ken Kaneki woke to find cold and rumpled bed sheets where his very pregnant mate should be laying, and what sounded like a struggle coming from the kitchen, it was no surprise that the alpha was on his feet in the blink of an eye.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark room around him as he searched for something to arm himself with, in case the intruder - or intruders - happened to come equipped with a weapon. The white-haired alpha settled for grabbing a nearby lamp that was posted on his nightstand, plucking the plug from its socket as he quietly sauntered across the room and made his way towards the hallway. 

Sticking close to the doorframe with the lamp tucked close to his chest, after confirming that the coast was clear, Kaneki slithered into the hallway and made a silent yet hasty approach for the living room area, the alpha narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the golden light that was pouring out of the doorway that led into the kitchen. 

His body thrummed with anxiety and anger as his mind pulled up all kinds of unpleasant images of his mate, bloodied and battered, draped lifelessly in the arms of a masked assailant. Fortunately, he was able to shake the images from his mind at a particularly loud clattering sound, followed by a whispered curse. 

Kaneki froze. 

Once again, images of his mate and unborn child being in potential danger surfaced in his mind, and that was what sent the alpha charging for the kitchen, towards the source of the sound. He poised the lamp in an offensive position across his chest, preparing it to strike whoever or whatever threat he would encounter as he rounded the corner, emerging into the kitchen with a snarl. 

However, he was immediately halted by a short scream followed by the sound of something clattering to the floor. Looking down at what had fallen to the ground, Kaneki raised a brow at the sight of overturned tupperware, it’s contents having spilled across the kitchen floor at a pair of feet. The alpha followed the feet all the way up to a familiar face. 

His shoulders slouched at the reassuring sight of Hide, the omega looking somewhat shocked with his finger in his mouth, the digit probably having been fishing around in whatever was in the container on the ground. 

“Oh my gosh, Kaneki! You scared the hell outta me!” Hide gasped, pulling the digit from his mouth so as to brace his hand across his heart. 

“You scared me first!” Kaneki countered equally as loudly, lowering the lamp. 

The alpha noticed how Hide’s eyes shifted from his face to the lamp in his weak grip, before returning to the white-haired alpha’s shocked expression. It was evident that he was trying to bite back a smile as he pointed at the lamp. 

“Is that the lamp from our nightstand?” 

“Yeah, so?” Kaneki asked, raising the lamp slightly so he could look it over before dropping it again to gauge Hide’s expression. 

“Kaneki Ken. I expected better from you.” Hide tutted, sounding like a stern mother as he braced his fists on his hips. 

“Wha—?” Kaneki sputtered dumbly, blinking several times to further express his confusion. 

The omega shook his head, a smile splitting across his face. “If you’re going to attack someone, at least don’t use the _lamps_. Those were a nice housewarming gift from my dads, and it comes in such a cute little set. Use the ugly vase we got from Nishiki- _senpai_ or something. It’s useless to us. He knows that I can’t take care of a plant to save my life!”

“I seriously thought you were in danger!” Kaneki volleyed, his frown deepening. 

“So, your plan was to bludgeon them to death with our good lamps?” Hide pursed his lips. 

“Your safety is more important to me than these lamps, Hide.” Kaneki huffed, allowing his exhaustion to bleed into his tone as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “So, yeah, you’re welcome for caring.”

“Well, I’d be even more grateful to you if you helped me pick up the mess you made.” Hide sighed, turning his gaze towards his feet so as to examine the overturned tupperware. 

“Me? _You’re_ the one who spilled it.” Kaneki couldn’t help but blurt out, making a motion with his hand towards the mess on the floor. 

“Yeah, but that’s only because you scared me! Also, I am seven months pregnant, thanks to you. I can’t even touch my toes, much less _see_ them!” Hide elaborated by drumming his fingers on the crest of his very wide belly, all the while sporting a triumphant grin in response to Kaneki’s lack of a response. “So, what’s your excuse, Ka-ne-ki?” 

“Fine. But you have to tell me why it is that you’re standing in the kitchen when we have a perfectly functional dining table? Also, are you some kind of wild animal or something? Man invented utensils for a reason, Hide - so you don’t have to eat with your hands.” Kaneki shook his head in disbelief as he grabbed the roll of paper towels, setting the lamp down on the kitchen counter before beginning the task of cleaning up after his clumsy mate. 

“The pregnancy cravings are real, Kaneki. Who am I to deny our child?” Hide rubbed his swollen belly. 

“Yeah, well, do cravings prevent you from sitting down? Because if you had been sitting at the dining table like a civil human being, this could’ve easily been avoided.” 

Hide feigned a gasp of pain before cradling his stomach so as to really sell it. “Ooh, it really hurts. I think I need to go to the other room, where you aren’t, and have a sit down.” 

“You know, you can’t use that excuse every time you want to get out of a conversation.” Kaneki rolled his eyes, chuckling under his breath. 

“I can while I’m still pregnant. You just watch me, Kaneki Ken.” Hide stuck his tongue out at the back of his mate’s head, which Kaneki could visualize him doing perfectly as the heavy omega waddled off to the next room. However, before he had completely taken his leave, Hide had taken the liberty of calling out over his shoulder, “When you create a full-fledged human being and start having to carry a hundred extra pounds in your gut, only then will I let you do and say whatever you want to me, deal?” Kaneki looked over his shoulder in time to catch the omega wink at him. 

“You’re ridiculous.” Kaneki grinned with a shake of his head. 

“I love you too!” 

“That’s not what I said.” Kaneki called after him.

There was a beat of silence as the white-haired alpha waited for a response from his omega, sure enough he was not disappointed. 

“Yeah, but I know you were thinking it!” 

And with that, the conversation was brought to an end, Kaneki and Hide both sporting identical smiles as they thanked whatever power was out there for blessing them with such a perfect mate. 

**  
**

«««~*~»»»

**  
**  



	2. A Name Decides Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some slight angst ahead. Mentions of miscarriage.

“What do you think about the name Kenichi?” 

Kaneki paused his reading to spare a glance at his mate. 

After breaching his thirty-second week of pregnancy, their doctor thought it would be best for the omega to be admitted to the hospital and placed on bed rest, wanting to closely monitor Hide and the baby. This was because the omega had what was known as an incompetent cervix, Kaneki and Hide having discovered this after the unexpected loss of their first baby, which increased the risk of miscarriage and premature births.

Kaneki and Hide had also learned that it was a fairly common anomaly found in male omega’s, having learned this during their time spent attending support groups dedicated to couples who have suffered the same unfair loss. The pair had attended these functions for a little over a year before they were able to feel comfortable with intimacy, mostly on Hide’s part. 

After the tragic loss of their first baby, the omega had been absolutely terrified of sharing the following heats with Kaneki. 

When he wasn’t choking himself on handfuls of suppressants, he was leaving a note behind explaining that he had gone to his parents house where he would spend his heat locked away in his childhood bedroom, leaving Kaneki to sleep alone in their bed for days on end. Those nights were typically long and sleepless for the alpha, despite phoning Hide’s dads every minute of every day to check up on him, Kaneki still wasn’t able to feel comfortable enough to be able to get a wink of sleep. 

However, even when he wasn’t in heat Hide was still deathly afraid of sex.

If Kaneki so much as _touched_ him experimentally, he would immediately be forced to retreat to the guest room. 

He was utterly afraid of the possibility of conceiving, and it was that fear that had created a rift between them. 

“Isn’t that a little too similar to my name?” Kaneki snorted, lowering the book to his lap. 

“Exactly.” Hide smiled, looking fondly at his stomach while rubbing it gently. “If we name him something that means “strong and healthy”, I’m sure he’ll work hard to live up to it, don’t you think? I mean, _you_ certainly do.” 

As Kaneki felt his face heat up at the praise, he quickly lifted the book so as to hide his expression from his mate. There was no doubt that he was blushing, and if Hide saw him in such a state the omega wouldn’t hesitate to tease him. 

However, it was too late. Kaneki watched that signature grin split the omega’s face, implying that Hide knew what it was that he was trying to hide. 

“Aw. Papa is just being shy” Hide chuckled, drumming his fingers against his belly to further express his amusement. 

“Shut up.” Kaneki huffed, lowering the book when he felt his expression turn back to normal. 

“Okay. But seriously, what do you think?” Hide bobbed excitedly, causing the bedsprings to creak with the movement. “I think that if we name him something similar to your name it’ll increase the chances of him being born with your eyes.” 

“That’s not how that works, Hide.” Kaneki snorted. 

“I can dream, Kaneki.” Hide stuck his tongue out at the alpha. 

“Speaking of which, isn’t it about time you start calling me by my given name? It’ll be confusing when the baby is born and we’re both Kaneki.” 

Bonding is not the same as marriage where one partner automatically takes the last name of their significant other after taking vows. The alpha bites the nape of the omega in heat, and the pair is instantly bound for life, with no way of removing the bite. There is no ceremony or call for celebration, life simply goes on for the pair. 

It’s simply _instinct_. 

Although it became taboo at the turn of the century, an alpha is allowed to bond as many omega’s as they want, and can even go as far as to create a harem if they so pleased, while an omega is only limited to one mate. In ancient times, alpha’s would do this to expand their bloodline, plus it gave them the option of producing stronger offspring with a more top-quality omega than the one they were currently bonded to

Nevertheless, if a pairing wishes to do so, similar to the process of common law marriage between beta’s, they have the option of getting a court order documenting their name change and can change their last name to match that of their mates. 

Needless to say, Kaneki and Hide have never seen the need to do that, believing that even if they became mates, their relationship wouldn’t change much outside of their relationship status. Though, it had been a mutual agreement for the baby to take Kaneki’s surname, Hide stating that he really liked it.

“Hmm… _weeelll_ …” Hide hummed, stretching the word out on purpose while averting his gaze, a look of feigned innocence on his face. 

Kaneki sighed, giving an unimpressed stare. “What?” 

Once again, Hide fixed his attention on Kaneki. “I was kind of hoping that you could just be “papa” and I would be “mama”. After all, it’s not like the baby really needs to know our names.” 

“You want _me_ to call you mama, too?” Kaneki sputtered. 

“Wouldn’t that be cute… _papa_?” Hide giggled. It was painfully obvious that he was enjoying sampling the new way of addressing Kaneki. 

“Hide…” Kaneki deadpanned. 

“No!” Hide whined, throwing his head back into the pillow. “It’s _mama_. Say it properly. What if the baby starts calling me ‘ _Hide_ ’ instead? I’ll never forgive you if that happens!” 

“I thought you preferred people calling you Hide?” Kaneki rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips at the omega’s small tantrum. 

“Yeah, but not my _child_. I don’t think I ever want him to know my real name.” Hide paused, staring at the ceiling contemplatively. There was a beat of silence before he started speaking again. “On second thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. _But_ not until he starts going to school. Imagine the surprised little face he’ll make when he finds out that my name isn’t _actually_ mama.” The omega grinned mischievously. 

“You’re unbelievable.” Kaneki sighed, shaking his head with soft laughter. 

“I know you’re probably thinking the same thing.” Hide pursed his lips in a pout. 

“Not in the least.” Kaneki smirked, his eyes never leaving the page of his book. 

Though the alpha would likely never admit it out loud, what he had actually been thinking at that moment was that Hide was going to make an excellent mama. And there was no doubt in his mind that their child would think so too. 

He just needed to hurry up and get here. 

**  
**

«««~*~»»»

**  
**

Kenichi Kaneki was born at thirty-four weeks, 12.7 inches, weighing in at five pounds and two ounces.


	3. Lullaby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, this sequel was inspired by my Sims game. When my very pregnant Hide woke up at 3 in the morning just to eat cereal. Also, the gender of the baby was also decided by my Sims game. 
> 
> I figured I would name him Kenichi because it’s so similar to Kaneki’s given name and I feel like Hide would want a theme. Also, it’s kind of similar to Ichika’s name.

When Kaneki woke, the first thing he noticed was that his mate was missing. The second thing he took notice of was that it was still dark outside, and after stealing a glance at the digital alarm clock posted on the nightstand, the alpha was able to confirm that it was a little after midnight. 

However, rather than fret over his absent mate, Kaneki breathed heavily through his nose as he tossed the comforter from his form. The mattress creaked and groaned in protest at the sudden shift in weight as he moved to slip off the bed, his feet hitting the floor with a soft _thud_ , the sound being swallowed up by his socks. 

His eyes having automatically adjusted to the darkness, Kaneki stalked quietly across the room before emerging in the hallway. The alpha had no need to pinpoint and follow the familiar scent of his mate as he sauntered down the hall, already having a hunch on where the blonde omega could be. 

Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed when he noticed that the door to the nursery had been left open slightly ajar. 

The alpha gently pushed the door open, allowing him enough room to slip inside. 

Kaneki was utterly grateful that he and Hide were having another boy, it meant his efforts decorating the nursery hadn’t been in vain, though it did need to be thoroughly cleaned and straightened out before Kenichi was born. There was definitely a lot of dust that had piled up after going untouched for an entire year. 

It looked so much more different with the curtains pulled open and the sunlight filtering in through the window, having been shrouded in a gloomy darkness until Kenichi came along. 

The alpha and omega hadn’t set foot in the nursery since their loss, finding it much too painful to even look in its direction. 

He found his omega sitting in the rocking chair, which had been moved from its original position, nestled in the corner of the room, with his upper body draped over the railing of the crib. He had one arm folded under his head with the other suspended over the bars, with each exhale his fingertips were just barely able to touch the small, square blanket that was inside. 

The position seemed uncomfortable and awkward, Kaneki was astounded that Hide could even manage to sleep like that. 

As Kaneki shuffled closer to the crib, his eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny body that was sprawled out inside the crib. 

His little fists were balled and his pudgy arms were bent at the elbow. His legs were also bent at the knee, appearing as if they were making the shape of a diamond, the heels of his feet were mere inches from touching. 

Kaneki gingerly curled his fingers around the railing with a soft chuckle as he peered down at his sleeping child. “You sleep just like your mama.” He whispered, reaching out to very lightly brush his index finger against his son’s ridiculously soft cheek. 

When Hide slept, he required a lot of space. The omega usually slept with all of his limbs fanned out, leaving Kaneki nothing but the edge of the bed. However, surprisingly enough, the alpha had never _once_ fallen off because of it. 

As a matter of fact, even when he was forced to sleep on his lonesome, during those rare times when he did manage to drift off to sleep, the alpha would usually find himself teetering on the edge of the mattress, or sometimes even the couch. 

Kaneki watched the gentle rise and fall of Kenichi’s little chest, and he didn’t know at what point it had happened but he found himself smiling. 

Despite the fact that Kenichi had absolutely no concept of time, having spent a majority of his life in the darkness of Hide’s womb, Kaneki and Hide were fortunate enough that he had a pretty normal sleep schedule. Moreover, he wasn’t a very fussy baby. Though he wasn’t really a fan of when it came time for Kaneki and Hide to bathe him in his little plastic tub. 

Kaneki shifted his attention from the sleeping baby to his sleeping mate, smiling fondly as the omega stirred. 

“ _Mm_ …” Hide moaned, raising the arm that was draped over the crib to rub at his eye. “… Kaneki?

“ _Shh_ …” Kaneki brought a finger to his lips, the omega’s voice being slightly above a whisper. The alpha looked from his mate to their child, and was relieved to discover that he hadn’t moved. 

Hide breathed heavily as he slowly pushed himself off of the crib, his eyes sliding over to his slumbering baby. The omega offered a small smile before shifting his attention back to his mate, Kaneki noticed how his eyes were half-lidded. 

“Why are you awake?” He whispered, his voice slightly muddled from having just woken up. 

“You were snoring really loudly over the baby monitor.” Kaneki quietly teased, earning an eye roll from the omega in return. 

“Oh, shut your mouth. No I wasn’t.” The omega sighed. Hide lowered his head to rest on the railing once more, however his arms were folded underneath his chin this time around. He stared tiredly at his baby boy, though his eyes threatened to shut at any moment. 

Kaneki chuckled softly. “C’mon Hide. Let’s go to bed.” The white-haired alpha bent slightly at the hip so as to brace a hand on the omega’s lower back. 

“… What about Kenichi?” Hide mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes.

Kaneki studied their baby for a minute before turning to his omega with a reassuring smile. Kenichi was still sound asleep in his crib. “He’s fine. There’s no need to worry.” 

“ _Mm_ … okay. Kaneki, carry me.” The omega huffed, gradually pushing himself off of the crib. 

A chuckle rumbled low in Kaneki’s throat at the request. “Alright, Hide.” With that said, in one fluent motion the alpha had slipped one arm under his mate’s legs while curling the other around his rib cage, gently lifting him in a bridal carry. 

Kaneki instinctively pulled Hide closer to his chest, which the omega didn’t hesitate to cuddle further into him, before pivoting on his heel and sauntering carefully towards the door. 

It wasn’t until the alpha was a few steps from their bedroom door that he noticed Hide had something tucked close to his heart. Upon closer inspection, Kaneki was able to confirm what it was with a sad smile. 

He figured Hide must’ve taken it with him by accident. 

… It was a little stuffed blue dog.

«««~*~»»»


	4. Parents at Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual content ahead!!

It had started as Hide simply wanting a back rub from Kaneki. 

The omega had been complaining about how his shoulders had been feeling sore as of late, his body being unaccustomed to the weight he had gained in his chest since giving birth to Kenichi. 

However, the situation had eventually escalated when Kaneki couldn’t resist the urge to pepper chaste kisses along the top of Hide’s spine, his focus mainly revolving around the deep set of teeth marks on his mate’s nape, and now the couple were engaged in a heated makeout session on the living room couch. 

At some point, Hide had been turned onto his back and was now caged between Kaneki’s arms, his alpha looming over him and returning his kisses from above. 

Although it was completely understandable considering Kenichi was practically a newborn, Kaneki had started to feel pretty lonely with how much more attention Hide had been giving the infant compared to his own mate. 

The baby was practically attached to Hide at the hip every minute of every day. And when Kaneki was able to find himself alone with his omega, which is usually around the time Kenichi is napping or during bedtime, taking the initiative to go and seek his mate out, he would typically find Hide already asleep somewhere. 

Nowadays, it was always Hide that would volunteer to wake up during those ungodly hours of the night to tend to Kenichi, catering to his every need. 

_But what about Kaneki’s needs?_

Despite the fact that Kaneki would never admit it out loud, because he wasn’t the type to make selfish demands, it did make him a little jealous that this baby was monopolizing all of his mate’s time and attention.

Nevertheless, it was natural for alpha’s to be possessive of their mates, but Kaneki thought that there must’ve been something seriously wrong for him to get jealous over _his own child_. 

Fortunately, it was Kaneki that had tended to Kenichi early that morning. And when Hide had approached him asking for a massage that afternoon, Kenichi having been put down for a nap a little earlier, the alpha knew that his efforts hadn’t been in vain. 

Hide gasped as the kiss was broken, a bridge of saliva breaking between them. “Is this going where I think it’s going?” Kaneki’s eyes never left his lips as he spoke, they had been coated in a sheen of saliva making them look shiny. 

“ _Mm_ … I hope so.” Kaneki purred seductively, sweeping his tongue over his bottom lip. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips into Hide’s once more, capturing his mate in a deep kiss meanwhile snaking a hand up the front of the omega’s shirt. He felt Hide tense before relaxing as his hand slowly crawled towards his chest, groping one of his full, heavy breasts. 

Kaneki was glad the omega never bothered with wearing nursing bras, not unless he had to go out in public, claiming that they irritated his nipples. 

Giving the breast a firm squeeze, the alpha was satisfied with the wanton gasp the action pulled from Hide, the omega arching up into him in an attempt to get even closer, making it evident he felt just as depraved as the alpha. 

“So needy.” Kaneki grinned, retreating backwards so as to trail chaste kisses along the omega’s jawline to his throat. Afterwards, the alpha sucked hungrily at a patch of skin on Hide’s neck until it tingled and bruised. 

“That’s only because you’re being such a tease.” Hide panted his retort, going completely boneless beneath the alpha. At some point, the omega had absently taken to running his fingers lightly along his mate’s forearms. 

“Tell me what you want, Hide.” With his thumb, Kaneki massaged small circles into the skin just beneath Hide’s breast. 

“Well, I already told you I just wanted a shoulder rub but look how that turned out.” Hide scoffed with a playful roll of his eyes. As he spoke, he felt his hands float above his head, moving to frame his alpha’s face. He gently encouraged Kaneki to lean forward, to which the alpha offered no resistance. 

He pressed a chaste yet passionate kiss to his lips, muffling the alpha’s soft laughter. 

Hide smirked when Kaneki lingered a little too long after the kiss was broken, his eyes half lidded and staring dreamily at his omega’s lips as if he was anticipating more. “Aw. Has papa been feeling lonely?” 

Kaneki practically melted into Hide’s touch, relishing the feeling of the omega’s thumbs smoothing over the curve of his cheeks. 

“A little.” Kaneki shrugged. As he spoke, he took the liberty of lowering himself until his body was pressed against Hide’s, leaving not an inch of space between them. 

“Well, we have until dinner time before _he_ gets hangry and wakes up.” Hide smiled, and Kaneki didn’t miss the way his eyes briefly darted to his mouth. “So, I’m all yours until then, Ka-ne-ki~” With that said, the omega slipped his arms around the back of his alpha’s neck, his fingers practically sinking into that stark white hair. 

They came together for one brief peck on the lips after another, before Hide took the liberty of deepening it. Meanwhile, he snaked his legs around the alpha’s hips, which had earned him a shudder of excitement as well as a decent feel of Kaneki’s growing erection right against his vagina, which he could feel through their layers of clothes. 

“Well, then. I better make the most of it.” Kaneki countered. 

“Not here.” Hide whispered, stopping Kaneki before he could start closing in. “Take me to the bed.” 

“Such a romantic.” Kaneki snorted, a small smile gracing his lips. Nevertheless, he was clambering off of his mate in the blink of an eye. Afterwards, he swept the omega up in his arms, carrying him bridal style to their bedroom. 

Hide couldn’t resist breaking into a fit of excited giggles when his alpha lifted him into his arms with relative ease. “What can I say - I like to be spoiled by my _big_ , _strong_ alpha.” Hide smiled. 

“Oh, you’re going to be _spoiled_ alright. I just hope you can handle it.” Kaneki grinned, he could almost feel the shiver of anticipation run down Hide’s spine at his words. 

“Please be gentle.” The omega practically cried. “After all, it's been a while. Not to mention, I can’t even laugh or sneeze without peeing a little.” Hide floundered, his face flushing a bright scarlet which he immediately scrambled to cover with his hands. 

“No promises.” Kaneki replied simply, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. 

Before Hide was even allowed to organize his thoughts and muster up a response, he was being thrown to the bed. 

The omega could hardly process anything that was happening as Kaneki crawled on top of him, claiming his mouth with his own. The alpha certainly didn’t hold back when it came to slipping Hide the tongue. Afterwards, Kaneki and his omega separated briefly to start stripping one another, coming together every now and again to share kisses - both chaste and deep. 

Their hands roamed curiously over one another as more of their bodies were gradually exposed, exploring each other’s bodies as if it were the first time. 

Needless to say, when Hide was finally allowed to fall back with his head against the hundreds of pillows piled against their headboard, Kaneki had instantly followed suit with his tongue deep inside the omega’s mouth. The couple was practically joined at the mouth at this point. 

The alpha had settled himself between Hide’s spread legs, which he could feel were quivering. Nevertheless, the omega’s obvious anxiety was completely understandable, especially since the couple haven’t had sex since a little before Hide found out he was pregnant with Kenichi. The omega didn’t want to do it while he was pregnant in fear of miscarrying or hurting the baby, despite the doctors constant reassurances that it was completely safe - healthy even. 

On the other hand, Hide had assumed his earlier position with his arms thrown around the alpha’s neck, fingers raking through Kaneki’s thick hair in desperation. 

“Kaneki… I want it.” Hide whined cutely, trapping the alpha’s waist between his knees as he squirmed underneath him. 

“Alright. Give me one minute.” Kaneki panted. After planting one more kiss to Hide’s lips, which the omega chased after when he retreated, clearly yearning for something deeper, the alpha stumbled as he crawled over towards the night stand. He reached inside and fished around until he pulled out a tin foil packet, which Hide was automatically able to identify as a condom. 

The foil screeched as it was peeled open, and Kaneki immediately got to work rolling the thin layer of latex over his stiff shaft. Afterwards, he gave it a few pumps, as if testing that it was properly secured, before he claimed his place between Hide’s thighs. As Hide chewed eagerly on his bottom lip, he couldn’t help but think that it felt so _natural_ for his alpha to be nestled between his legs. 

Whether it was in his arms or between his legs, it was as if _that_ was where Kaneki belonged. 

The alpha’s gaze shifted from Hide’s glistening pussy to properly look him in the eyes. “Tell me if it hurts, okay? I’ll stop immediately.”

Hide could offer nothing but a weak nod as he braced himself, worrying his teeth into the skin of his bottom lip as he felt the blunt head of Kaneki’s cock rubbing against the entrance to his birth canal.

“ _Mm_ … Kaneki…!” Hide gasped, his breathing was stunted as he felt himself stretch to accommodate Kaneki’s impressive girth. 

Needless to say, the experience was initially painful, Hide’s previous expression exchanged for one that was pinched with obvious discomfort, but he refused to say anything. Fortunately, the stretch gradually started to burn in a more pleasant manner as Kaneki slowly eased more of himself inside. The alpha didn’t stop until his pelvis was pressed against Hide’s, and the crown of his member was just barely able to kiss the mouth of the omega’s womb. 

Kaneki paused, staring into his lover’s eyes. He waited patiently for a sign that it was alright to start moving, and after a beat of silence Hide finally nodded. Kaneki instantly took to heatedly kissing his mate as he started with slow, shallow thrusts. 

His body was pressed against Hide, however he managed to keep a majority of his weight off of the omega. 

The alpha was very gentle, pulling out slowly before pressing all the way inside, repeating the motion. Only when he felt something hard against the tip upon pushing in would he grind his hips forward, earning a broken moan from his omega, which he would swallow hungrily. 

The omega shuddered and his insides would convulse everytime Kaneki stimulated his cervix, which would earn him a raw gasp in return. The alpha’s breathy noises only served to excite the omega more. 

With every deep thrust, the omega could feel the small notch at the base of Kaneki’s cock catching on the rim of his pussy. Something at the back of his mind told him that that was where the alpha’s knot was supposed to form, and Hide felt himself growing wetter at the thought. 

Kaneki took it slow until they were both coming undone. 

“Kaneki… I’m gonna…!” Hide had gasped breathlessly into his mouth, reflexively tightening his hold around the alpha’s neck. 

“Me too.” Kaneki grunted in response, breaking the kiss to push their foreheads together instead. 

Hide shook violently with a hitched cry as his orgasm rocked him to the core, and when Kaneki felt his mate’s insides trembling and constricting around him he was quick to follow suit. Trembling cutely, the alpha pushed in as deep as he could before allowing his release to wash over him. 

Even through the condom, Hide could feel his liquid warmth spilling out. 

Supporting himself on weak and shaky limbs, Kaneki watched through hazy vision as he gently pulled out of the omega.

In the time it had taken him to very carefully peel the condom off of his dick and tie it up, taking a trip on unsteady legs to the bathroom to toss it, Hide had managed to drift off to sleep. 

Kaneki smiled fondly at the sight of his omega before joining him on the bed. He pulled the omega close, tucking Hide’s head underneath his chin which earned him a purr of satisfaction. 

“You still owe me a massage. A _real_ one.” Hide grumbled with his eyes closed, revealing that he hadn’t been fully asleep yet. 

“I know.” Kaneki smiled, rubbing the omega’s shoulders. “I love you, Hide.” 

“I love you too, Kaneki.” 

With that said, the kiss they shared was short and sweet.

**«««~*~»»»**

During the next round, Hide certainly received his share of being spoiled by his alpha, needing that back massage more than ever afterwards. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think or leave me some of those delicious kudos!


	5. Tomato Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you to all my readers for taking the time to read this!! You guys are amazing ❤️❤️
> 
> Also, I want to offer a big thank you to Rocky54u for the wonderful comments you have left on this work so far!!! They really inspire me, and I really appreciate you taking the time to do that!! ❤️

When Kaneki had returned home from work that afternoon, he was a little disheartened to find that his adorable mate wasn’t waiting at the door to greet him. However, after removing his shoes and venturing further into the small house, he eventually found his omega with a video camera in hand hovering over their son with a large grin. 

On the other hand, Kenichi was seated in his high chair, and had simply been trying to enjoy the slices of cherry tomatoes that were littered all over his tray. Though it seemed he was having way more fun squishing them between his fingers, than actually sticking them in his mouth and eating them. 

Upon closer inspection, Kaneki noticed the little blue stuffed dog that had been shoved into the seat of the high chair alongside Kenichi. Similar to Kenichi, his face was absolutely _covered_ in the juice as well as the seeds of the little tomatoes. 

Kaneki wouldn’t doubt it if neither of them had even _bothered_ to notice he had returned home. However, he figured he would use that to his advantage and simply observe what was happening from the doorway. 

“Ken-Ken, look here. Look at mama” Hide cooed, whistling a few times so as to get his son to pay attention to the camera. However, even when Kenichi did finally look into the lens, it was for a split second. Afterwards, he would take to excitedly babbling as he crushed the little tomatoes under his chubby hands, sending the juice flying in all directions. At one point, Hide blew on his tongue before retreating slightly, some of it having got in his mouth. It was impressive none of it landed on the camera lens. 

“Kenichi, can you say _ma-ma_? Say _mama_.” Hide repeated the word several times, making his voice impossibly high the more he spoke. “ _Ma-ma_. Say _ma-ma_.”

The omega was met with silence, their child found that he was more interested in sliding his hands across the messy surface of his tray, sending the skins of the tomatoes soaring through the air before they plummeted to the ground. 

“Ken-Ken, you’re making such a mess.” Hide sighed in disapproval, panning the camera to the floor to show the mess. “C’mon, if you’re going to make mama work and clean up your mess, the least you could do is say _mama_.” The omega whined impatiently. “Do it. Say _ma-ma_.”

When Hide pushed the camera closer to Kenichi’s slippery little face, that was when Kaneki decided it was time to intervene. 

“Is there a reason you’re harassing that poor boy while he’s trying to eat?” The alpha sighed, sauntering across the room towards his mate and child. 

Hide glanced over his shoulder before gasping and turning his attention back to Kenichi with a wide smile. “Look Ken-Ken! Papa’s home! _Yaaay_!” Hide lowered the video camera in favor of clapping his hands together. The omega’s nose wrinkled cutely with laughter when Kenichi expressed his excitement through pumping his legs and repeatedly slamming his hands down on his tray. 

Kaneki strode over with a fond smile before stopping in front of his son. He began with planting a kiss to the crown of Kenichi’s soft little head, narrowly avoiding getting his bottom lip busted as his child continued to bounce excitedly in his chair. Afterwards, he turned to his mate— 

“I’m back.” 

“Welcome back.” 

— And the couple came together for a chaste kiss. 

Kaneki raised a brow at the video camera before focusing once more on his omega. “Care to explain?” 

“Oh! The craziest thing happened when I sat Kenichi in his high chair for lunch!” Hide exclaimed, his brows shooting to his hairline. “Kaneki! I’m not even kidding, but I _swore_ I heard him say “ _ma_.” And I just _had_ to grab the camera to capture the moment.” 

“So, you’ve been holding him hostage in his high chair with a video camera in his face since lunchtime?” Kaneki snorted. 

“Well, it’s not like _he_ had a problem with it.” Hide shrugged, briefly averting his gaze to the ceiling. “In fact, I’d say he liked it more than I did.” The omega giggled before cooing at their child to confirm if that was true. 

“Yeah. Probably because mama let him get away with making a mess.” Kaneki grimaced at the mess of tomato skins scattered at his feet. 

“So long as I can get a _mama_ out of him.” Hide winked, earning a snort and an eye roll from the white-haired alpha. The omega then turned to his grinning child. “Mama goes above and beyond, tell him Ken-Ken. Say: “ _mama rules and papa drools_ ”.” Hide tickled Kenichi’s chubby stomach as he spoke, earning an excited squeal from the baby. 

“More like: mama likes to go overboard.” Kaneki grumbled, reaching over to grab the stuffed dog out of the seat. He absently started plucking and peeling off the little seeds that had dried and crusted to the unfortunate stuffed animal.

“Papa’s just jealous because Ken-Ken is learning to say “ _mama_ ” first.” Hide cooed, trying his best to avoid the mess on Kenichi’s face so as to pinch at his round cheeks. “Wow, look at that messy little tomato face you got there. You need a bath. Maybe papa can help clean you up?” The omega sent a questioning look over his shoulder. 

“Sure. Papa can help mama clean up his mess.” Kaneki chuckled with a shake of his head, setting the stuffed dog aside, but not before making a mental note to throw him in the washing machine later on. However, when he made to pluck his son out of his high chair, unbuckling him before bracing his hands under both of Kenichi’s arms so as to lift him, the child shocked both of his parents still. 

“Ma!” The baby suddenly squealed. 

Before Kaneki and Hide could even start to register what was happening, Kenichi exclaimed the word once more. “Ma!” 

“Ma! Ma! Ma!” He cried again and again, giggling at his parents' identical expressions which clearly expressed how dumbfounded they were in that moment. 

When Kenichi went silent, the room was quickly filled with yet another cry - however, this time around it was Hide. 

“Aw! No! It wasn’t recording!”

**«««~*~»»»**

Needless to say, Hide was upset with himself for the remainder of the day. And no amount of Kenichi crying “ma” could cheer him up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Kenichi to be about 8 months old in this chapter.


	6. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s Kenichi’s first birthday! With appearances from other couples and characters. 
> 
> (Featuring: Touka/Yoriko, Nishiki/Kimi & the Quinx Squad!)

When Kenichi turned one year old, Kaneki and Hide weren’t afraid to go all out - mostly Hide. 

The omega had taken the liberty of booking a photography studio and professional photographer a few weeks in advance, all for the sake of snapping some adorable shots of his baby in different kinds of poses and outfits. 

Afterwards, Hide went ahead and bought whatever pictures he liked the most - which was almost all of them - in all different sizes for different reasons: some to frame and mount on the wall, some for his and Kaneki’s wallets, some to display on their entertainment center, etc. 

However, the intended purpose of having these pictures done was to pick and paste one in particular on a birthday invitation that would be sent out to all of the couple’s close friends, announcing Kenichi’s first birthday. Naturally, almost everyone that had received an invitation called to RSVP - regardless of Nishiki’s protests in the background of the phone call with his wife, Kimi. 

Touka and her mate, Yoriko, were the first to arrive at their doorstep. The alpha sporting her usual scowl while her omega smiled cheerfully as she presented them with a gift, which was stuffed to the brim with colorful tissue paper. It made Hide nostalgic about when the couple had attended his baby shower, he recalled them having used the same kind of tissue paper at the time. 

Nevertheless, the blonde omega accepted it with a bright smile that could rival Yoriko’s before inviting the couple inside. 

“So, where is the birthday boy?” Yoriko chirped, following Hide further inside his home with her alpha hot on her heels. 

“Kaneki just went to go fetch him from his nap.” Hide responded, sending a smile over his shoulder. 

Hide treated the gift with utmost delicacy as he set it down on the coffee table. 

“Oh wow! Did you recently put him down or…?” Yoriko blinked, her sentence tapering off intentionally, in hopes of Hide catching onto what it was that she was trying to ask. 

Fortunately for her, he did. 

“Nah, we usually put him down for a nap after lunch time. But he had a pretty rough night last night, so we figured we’d let him sleep for a little longer.” Hide turned to the couple, bracing both hands on his hips. The omega then gave a long, winded sigh. “The only problem now is that he probably won’t be able to go down easily tonight.” 

Yoriko giggled at this, meanwhile Touka folded her arms over her chest and scoffed, silently judging the other couple’s amateur move. 

Shortly afterwards, Kaneki emerged into the living room with Kenichi in his arms. The baby had a hand tucked close to his mouth, the other was clutching at the material of his father’s shirt, and was dressed in an adorable outfit Hide had picked out for him beforehand. 

He studied Touka and Yoriko warily as Kaneki drew closer to them. His silver eyes were large and a little wet, leading Hide to believe that he was probably a little fussy after having his nap time interrupted. 

While Yoriko fawned over the infant from up close and personal - Touka opting to keep her distance, though Hide could clearly see the utter adoration in her eyes - Nishiki and Kimi had arrived.

Hide greeted the couple with a bright smile before leading them to the living room to join the others. Afterwards, Kimi was politely encouraged by the male omega to place their gift on the coffee table, the beta woman setting it down gently beside Touka and Yoriko’s. 

Admittedly, the omega had initially been a little nervous about packing three dominant alpha’s under the same roof, but he tried his best to stay faithful to the thought that the occasion would distract everyone and keep the atmosphere light. Fortunately, it seemed like Nishiki and Touka were making a conscious effort to maintain some distance with Kenichi and Hide. 

On the other hand, Kaneki had taken some alpha suppressants that morning, which would keep him from feeling territorial as well as neutralize his pheromones. So long as he didn’t make an effort to touch Kimi or Yoriko, Nishiki and Touka would remain calmly observing from afar. 

Despite the fact that Touka and Kaneki had been close friends since high school, the couple wouldn’t hesitate to draw blood. 

“Happy birthday, Kenichi!” Kimi exclaimed, joining Yoriko in cooing at the baby. “I can’t believe you’re already one! Time sure flies, huh?” She looked up at Kaneki and smiled. 

“It seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.” Kaneki replied sheepishly. 

“I was just telling Kaneki- _san_ that Kenichi looks just like him.” Yoriko turned to Kimi. “Don’t you think?” 

“You know, I was actually _just_ thinking that.” Kimi responded, sounding somewhat astounded. 

“Even though he was so ugly when he was born.” Nishiki chimed in with a grin. 

“Nishio.” Kimi hissed, sending a pointed look at her husband from over her shoulder. 

“He looked like a monkey.” Touka admitted, wrinkling her nose at the memory. 

“Touka.” It was Yoriko desperately hissing her alpha’s name this time around, using the exact same tone Kimi had. However, it lacked the intimidation factor. 

Fortunately, everyone’s attention was seized once more when Kenichi started to babble incessantly, his pudgy hand curling into his dad’s shirt as he spoke. Hide found it funny that Kimi was actually responding to him, as if she could actually understand what he was saying. 

Kenichi found it funny too, expressing this by laughing out loud. 

“What a silly baby.” Yoriko giggled. 

“Yes, and super cute too! I just want to bite his little cheeks.” Kimi smiled, tickling her index finger against one of his chubby cheeks as if to prove a point. 

Needless to say, Kenichi broke into another fit of laughter. 

“Alright, babe. Don’t make it weird.” Nishiki scoffed with a roll of his eyes. 

“Uncle Nishio is such a stick in the mud.” Kimi huffed, turning her head to stick her tongue out at her husband. “You think so too, right Kenichi?” Her head suddenly swiveled back around to the infant, giving him a wide grin. 

As if he was agreeing with what she was saying, Kenichi responded in his own native tongue, earning a chuckle from the two women as well as his mother and father. 

A few minutes later, it was a few of Kaneki’s colleagues who showed up at their doorstep, each one bearing their own gift. 

Nevertheless, Hide was immediately taken off guard when a present was suddenly being shoved into his chest, Shirazu making his presence known as he stepped past the surprised omega, shouting boisterously as he made his way through the house. 

“Yo, Sass- _san_! Where’s the birthday boy at?” 

Hide watched the fellow blonde omega scamper through the front hall before his attention was suddenly grabbed by a not-so-subtle tongue click. 

“That idiot.” Urie scoffed. Nevertheless, the young alpha was trailing after the blonde omega without so much as sparing a glance in Hide’s direction. 

“Cake!” Saiko exclaimed excitedly, darting past Urie’s retreating form as she made her way through the entrance hall, hugging her present close to her chest. 

“Um, I’m sorry about them.” Hide turned his head to see that it was Mutsuki that had spoken up this time around, an awkward smile on his face. “Uh, this is for Kenichi.” The beta then exhibited his own gift bag. The bag itself was rather plain, but Hide quickly noticed that the tissue paper tucked inside had adorable ducklings printed all over it. 

Looking from the present to the beta, the omega offered a gentle smile. “Thank you.” Afterwards, he stepped aside before making an inviting gesture with his hand, “Please, come in.”

Hide guided Mutsuki further inside, setting the present in his hands with the rest of them on the table. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Urie and Saiko had already taken the liberty of placing their gifts down in a neat fashion with the others. 

Fortunately, the beta was quick to take the hint and followed suit. 

As expected, Hide found his alpha being swarmed by even more people than before, by Shirazu especially. The younger omega didn’t have a clue when it came to personal space, grinning from ear to ear as he tried to tickle Kenichi’s ribs but failed miserably in doing so, instead he received a confused stare from the baby, who was now completely silent. 

It was as if Kenichi was asking, “who are you?” 

Naturally, Urie was stationed close to the blonde, his arms folded over his chest. He insisted on lecturing the omega about personal space and that Kenichi was obviously uncomfortable with it, this earned him a confused groan from Shirazu in return. However, before their bantering could even begin, Kaneki was quick to defuse the situation. 

Unlike Touka and Nishiki, Hide wasn’t too worried about Urie being invited despite being an alpha. 

The young alpha was not only recessive, which had gifted him with a major inferiority complex, but he was also mated to another, dominant alpha. Although arranged pairings between two alpha’s became a less common practice at the turn of the century, the decision to marry Urie off to another alpha had been made by his parents long before he was ever aware of his role as an alpha. 

Therefore, it was safe to say that he wasn’t an active threat to any of the other alpha’s that were in attendance this evening. To the other alpha’s, Urie’s status was no different than that of an omega, which would explain Kaneki being so unguarded in letting the other alpha approach his child. 

“Sass- _san_ , you make such cute babies!” Shirazu sniffled, Kenichi having latched onto his hair with a wide grin. 

“Um, thank you?” Kaneki responded awkwardly, a crooked smile on his lips. 

“What’re you, a masochist? Why are you letting him pull your hair?” Urie raised a brow.

“Because he’s too cute to resist!” Shirazu responded, his face reflecting absolute bliss. 

“Hopeless.” Urie grimaced. 

Mutsuki chuckled into his hand. “He’s adorable.” 

“Thank you.” Hide beamed, puffing his chest out with pride. 

“Why do you look so happy, Nagachika? He was talking about Kenichi.” Nishiki huffed. “Not you.” 

“Well, I mean, who do you think made him that cute?” Hide grinned, folding his arms over his chest triumphantly. 

“Ugh, whatever.” The blonde alpha grumbled. 

“My, it’s so lively.” Kimi smiled. “It’s definitely starting to feel like a party now.” 

“Right?” Yoriko chirped. 

“Saiko- _chan_. That cake isn’t until after Kenichi opens his presents.” Kaneki warned from over his shoulder, Hide moved his eyes in the direction his mate was looking to find that the beta was trying her best to creep into the kitchen undetected. 

“Ah!” Saiko cried, freezing in her tracks. “I’ve been discovered!” 

“Well, let’s not waste anymore time and get this over with.” Touka sighed, approaching her omega from behind so as to loop her arms around her mate’s slender waist. She reflexively pulled the omega back into her, which Yoriko allowed with a smile, turning her head to peck her alpha on the cheek. Hide didn’t know if it had been his imagination or not, but he was pretty sure Touka had blushed at the gesture. 

However, before he could confirm if his eyes were simply playing tricks on him, it vanished as the alpha fixed him with a glare. “What’re you grinning at?”

Hide blinked. “Eh? I’m just happy that we could all come together like this, is all.” This was followed by a bright smile. “Speaking of which, when are you two planning on having one of your own?” 

Touka’s face went completely red at the unexpected question. “W-what?!” She squawked. 

“Well, we’ve been talking about it.” Yoriko giggled innocently, a small amount of blush dusting across her round cheeks. 

“Yoriko,” Touka whined, “don’t just tell him that!” 

“Eh? Touka- _chan_ , are you embarrassed?” Yoriko blinked owlishly at her alpha. 

“S-shut up!” The alpha blushed. “Hey, Bakaneki, let’s hurry this along!” Touka hissed, turning her glare to Kaneki this time around. 

“Eh? Touka- _chan_ , are you mad?” Without knowing it, Kaneki had parroted Yoriko, to which Hide couldn’t resist bursting into a fit of laughter. 

“Alright, let’s do this.” Nishiki announced, pushing himself off the wall before making his way to where the gifts were piled on top of the table. 

“Ah, wait! Let me go grab my video camera first!” Hide floundered, scrambling to go fetch his video camera from his bedroom. 

“Too late, we’re starting now.” Nishiki teased, slowly plucking his and Kimi’s gift out of the stash. 

“I said wait!” The omega sounded frantic. 

“Not waiting anymore.” Nishiki lazily blanched. 

“Nishiki- _senpai_ , you jerk!” Hide cried. 

There was a collective silence as everyone watched Hide’s retreating form until the omega finally ducked into his and Kaneki’s bedroom, vanishing completely from sight. 

“Heh, your mama is such a weirdo.” Shirazu snickered, playing with one of Kenichi’s chubby cheeks. 

“Like you’re one to talk.” Urie sighed. 

Needless to say, the Kaneki-Nagachika household was especially lively that evening.

**«««~*~»»»**

Rather than the photos from the photoshoot, Hide took to treasuring a completely different picture that had been taken at the party. It was a picture of Kenichi with a big smile pasted on his face, not eating, but _wearing_ his first ever birthday cake. 


	7. A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just a heads up that I have received P5R in the mail today, which I am very excited for, so updates will most likely be slower than usual!! (I will be trading whatever time I spend sleeping, eating and hanging out with my boyfriend for my husband, Akechi, and I am not sorry ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯)

“Mama!” Kenichi cried, rushing over to his mother. Before Hide could be allowed ample time to react, the four year old was barreling into his legs, causing the omega to briefly lose his balance. 

“Ken-Ken, you can’t just run into mama while I have a knife in my hands. It’s dangerous.” The omega scolded, though it lacked any actual bite to it. Hide had been in the midst of preparing lunch for the couple. 

“Mama, listen!” Kenichi responded, his arms snaked tightly around Hide’s legs. He had to throw his head backwards in order to properly meet his mother’s gaze.

The blonde gently set the knife aside before responding. “Alright, mama’s listening.” 

“Um, so, can mama make time to read a story to me, pretty please?” Kenichi blinked, his silver eyes shining with excitement. 

Looking down at the small child, Hide offered a bright smile before reaching down so as to playfully tousle thick locks. 

“Hey!” Kenichi whined in response, immediately moving to make an attempt at fixing his ruffled hair. This earned a soft chuckle from his mother. 

Hide could proudly confirm that Kenichi definitely took after his father in more than just the looks department; when Kaneki was younger he also took great joy in reading books at every chance he got. The omega couldn’t help but wonder if that was actually something that could be passed on through genetics. Nevertheless, he was more than happy to indulge his child. 

“We sure can, but let’s have lunch first, okay?” Hide smiled, turning away from Kenichi in favor of focusing on his previous task. 

“Okay, mama. When will lunch be done?” Kenichi asked, flanking his mother before making an attempt to get a glimpse at what his mother was doing. He curled his fingers around the edge of the countertop before rising to his tip-toes, which allowed him to just barely be able to watch the omega in action. 

However, he wasn’t able to watch for long as his mother ceased what he was doing in favor of gently nudging the small child backwards, much to Kenichi’s confusion. 

“Honey, step back please. Mama has a knife.” Hide warned. 

“Because the knife will kill me?” Kenichi asked innocently. 

“Well, yes it can. But mama just doesn’t want you to accidentally get hurt.” Hide clarified, sighing in relief as the child obediently complied, shuffling backwards from the counter. 

“Hey, mama. If a knife - if, um, if a knife stabbed you, um, would you die?” 

Hide really disliked when his son asked such morbid questions, but he also knew that it couldn’t be helped. He had to remind himself that it was perfectly normal for Kenichi to ask such things at his age. “Well, I guess it depends on where you were stabbed, and how fast you can get to a hospital if that happened.” 

To make it obvious that his mother's words had immediately gone in one ear and out the other, Kenichi quickly migrated to a new topic. “Why do people, um, go to hospitals when they get hurt?” 

“So that way doctors can help them get better.” Hide answered simply. 

“Can people die in hospitals?” Kenichi asked, unconsciously moving closer to the counter.

“They can.” Hide affirmed with a nod, noticing how his son was steadily sliding up next to him. Fortunately, the omega no longer needed the knife and thus set it aside before continuing his preparations. 

“Um, if hospitals are s’posed to be helping people who are hurt, um, why do they still die?” Kenichi followed his mother as he worked his way around the kitchen, the omega migrating to the rice cooker next, which signaled to the blonde that the rice was prepared. 

“That depends.” 

Hide continued to answer a variety of unrelated questions until the moment he was finished making preparations, finally earning a minute of silence as he ushered Kenichi to have a seat at the dining table, joining him shortly afterwards.

**«««~*~»»»**

After lunch, while the omega was busy washing both of their dishes, Hide was quick to remind Kenichi of his request from earlier just before the child could scamper off.

As expected, Hide’s words instantly had the excited child rocketing into the neighboring room so as to fetch a story from the bookshelf for his mother to read to him. 

According to Kaneki, that bookshelf previously belonged to his father before his passing, thus it was crammed with all sorts of books ranging from works of literature to textbooks and manuals. 

However, shortly after Kenichi gained a fascination for reading, some of those old books had to be placed in a box and stored away for the time being, the bottom shelves having been completely cleared out exclusively for Kenichi’s own book collection. 

Needless to say, their son had been quick to stuff those naked shelves, his interests mainly ranging from simple nursery rhymes to poems that dove into the recesses of the human soul. Though naturally, Kenichi had yet to really grasp the meaning of some of those poems, having simply fallen in love with them because of the way his father read them. 

Kenichi absolutely _adored_ it when Kaneki read to him. In fact, Hide was loath to admit it, but he probably enjoyed it far more than when it was his mother reading to him. 

Nevertheless, Hide couldn’t find any room to complain. 

His heart practically melted every time he happened to stumble across the sight of Kaneki with a book in his hands and his son curled into his side, the child’s fingers playing absently with his mouth as his eyes swept across the page, doing his best to follow along with his father, reading softly. 

It was always so entertaining for Hide whenever he saw the two of them next to one another, Kenichi looking like an exact replica of Kaneki, except smaller and chubbier. 

On the other hand, the only trait he adopted from his mama had simply been his ability to achieve an easy tan, while Kaneki just burned. 

The mother was quickly pulled from his thoughts when Kenichi eagerly returned, a book tucked close to his chest. He had also taken the liberty of fetching his stuffed blue dog, which had been lying sprawled out across the living room floor until then. 

For as long as he could walk, Kenichi took that toy _everywhere_ with him. 

He had even gone as far as to give it a name: Wan Wan. Having done so at the tender age of two. 

Kenichi had recently learned animal sounds at the time, and because Kaneki and Hide had taught him that “ _wan_ ” was the sound a dog made and the stuffed animal happened to be a dog, that was how his name was ultimately decided. 

The omega was quickly pulled from his musing when he took notice of the book in his hands instead. Upon closer inspection, Hide quickly noticed that the book in his grasp was no ordinary picture book - it was a _baby_ book.

In other words, it was the book that Kaneki and Hide had crafted in their spare time when the omega had been pregnant with Kenichi. It contained all sorts of memorable photos of him and his parents. 

The omega offered a gentle smile, his gaze shifting from the book to his son’s smiling face. “What do you have there?” 

“A picture book!” Kenichi exclaimed. “I want you to read it to me, mama.” 

“Well, I can’t read it if it’s just pictures, Ken-Ken.” Hide giggled. 

Nevertheless, Kenichi failed to be discouraged by his mother’s words. 

“Um, papa pretty much just reads to me what it says on the bottom of the picture. So, you can do that too, mama.” Kenichi grinned, having to adjust Wan Wan so he could rest the book flat against his forearm, opening it up to the first page. “See? There’s words on the bottom of the pictures.” Kenichi maneuvered the large book in his grasp, holding it up with the covers fanned out for his mother to see. 

As Hide was busy studying the set of pictures scattered across the first page, having to bend slightly at the waist in order to achieve a good view, a small smile stretching across his face at the fond memories he was being presented with, something had accidentally slipped out from between the margins of the book. 

It fluttered to the ground before landing at Hide’s feet. 

“Oops.” Kenichi gasped, reflexively lowering the book as his eyes instantly searched the floor, immediately seeking out where a small black and white picture lay. 

Kenichi set Wan Wan, as well as the photo book aside in favor of plucking the picture off of the ground. 

He was silent for a few minutes as he studied it curiously, trying to analyze what it was that he was looking at before turning to his mother, confusion evident in his gaze. 

“Mama, what picture is this?” He asked, holding the picture out for his mother to take. 

Hide gingerly pinched the picture between his forefinger and thumb before turning it so as to properly examine it. 

At first glance, Hide was quickly able to identify the picture as one that would be taken during an ultrasound appointment. Without another thought, the blonde immediately searched the image, anticipating a date of sorts to be scribbled on the back of the picture. When Hide had been pregnant with Kenichi, he and Kaneki had been very organized in marking the ultrasound pictures with dates, as well as how many months along the omega was at the time and any fetal milestones such as: “baby can hear” or “baby has fingernails”. 

However, there was nothing. It was completely blank. Furthermore, Hide couldn’t even distinguish where a fetus could possibly be located in the fuzzy image.

It was simply nothing more than a picture of Hide’s uterus, seemingly empty. 

The omega raised a brow, searching the picture again. Nevertheless, as the omega made to finally open his mouth so as to volley his son’s confusion regarding what this picture could mean, it suddenly dawned on him. 

“What is it?” Kenichi whined, his patience clearly wearing thin from the long stretch of silence. 

Hide opened his mouth before closing it again, taking a minute to organize his thoughts before he could put them into words. However, the longer he stared at the picture, his gaze focused on that one pixelated dot at the edge of his uterus, with that blue stuffed dog barely in his peripheral, the more scrambled his mind became. 

“It’s a picture,” Hide took a brief second to clear his throat, his voice initially coming out hoarse, “of a baby… when it’s in my tummy. That’s what it looks like.”

“Whoa!” Kenichi exclaimed, completely ignoring his mother’s brief moment of silence towards the end of that sentence, as well as his sudden somber expression. The child sprang to his mother’s side instead, trying his best to get another glimpse at the fuzzy image. Needless to say, he still didn’t have the slightest clue what he was looking at but it apparently didn’t matter. “Is that me when I was in your belly, mama?” 

Hide slowly shook his head. “No, Ken-Ken.” The omega spoke softly. 

“Then, who is that in mama’s belly?” Kenichi pouted, turning those big, bright eyes to look in his mother’s face. 

Hide offered nothing more than a smile, his hands naturally going to the crown of his son’s hair, stroking his head softly. “… Maybe when you’re older, okay?” 

“Hm… Okay, mama.” Kenichi muttered in disappointment. 

Had Kenichi been a little older and more conscious of his surroundings, he probably would’ve noticed the sad look in his mother’s eyes. 

But he didn’t, and for that Hide was grateful.

**«««~*~»»»**

Afterwards, Hide and Kenichi, along with Wan Wan, parked their rears on the sofa and engrossed themselves in viewing the pictures of Kenichi when he was a baby, with a few pictures of a pregnant Hide added to the mix every now and then.

Without fail, the four year old would chime in with questions regarding either his infancy or what it was that he was doing in each photo. However, Hide didn’t mind the interruptions in the least because the omega could literally talk about his adorable child all day long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just appreciate the fact that Kenichi isn’t your typical nosy four year old who is constantly asking ‘why’, but is instead all obedient, like: ‘okay, mama I won’t ask about it anymore’?? 
> 
> … Star child.


	8. No Better Than Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: 3000+ words of shameless porn ahead! Also, this chapter does contain extreme dirty talk, because the author is a horny animal who doesn’t know any better. Anyway, please enjoy!!

One of the many advantages to being bonded to an omega for as long as Kaneki has is that he is able to sense Hide’s heat before the omega himself is aware of it. 

The moment the alpha noticed that subtly sweet touch to Hide’s scent, he immediately phoned Kimi and Nishiki asking if the couple could babysit Kenichi for the time being. 

The next day, the alpha’s intuition turned out to be accurate when his omega started to display signs of proestrus. 

Kaneki had been lounging on the sofa in the family room, occupying himself with reading the latest novel by Takatsuki Sen, when Hide had taken the liberty of joining him. 

Naturally, as he wormed his body between the alpha and his book, making it a point to slide his hands up the front of the alpha’s shirt as he did so, his scent washed over Kaneki. It was sweeter and more potent than it had been yesterday, serving as a major distraction to the alpha whose attention was instantly pulled from what it was he had been reading. 

“ _Mmm_ ,” Hide hummed, nuzzling his nose against a scent gland on the alpha’s neck, “you smell so good, Kaneki.” 

“That’s my line.” Kaneki purred, craning his neck to scent his omega more clearly. There was a void in his memory from the time he bookmarked his page and set it down somewhere nearby, already finding himself with his hands crawling up Hide’s shirt so as to run his hands up and down the omega’s sides. His skin was very warm. 

Hide wasn’t even in full blown heat yet, but Kaneki was finding that his head was already swimming from the intoxicating scent rolling off of his mate. 

Nevertheless, there wasn’t a doubt in Kaneki’s mind that Hide was entering his proestrus stage. This meant that he wouldn’t officially induce heat for a few more hours. 

Proestrus was a tool used by omega’s as a sort of invitation. It was biologically coded in the omega to secure an alpha by communicating to potential mates that the omega was sexually receptive and looking to breed. If there is an alpha who is interested the courting ritual can begin. However, if there is more than one suitor, blood is shed as the alpha’s are biologically inclined to fight for the omega, as well as the right to breed. 

This is what’s known as natural selection, which is typically displayed in animals. 

In other words, the alpha and omega dynamics are no better than _animals_. 

On the other hand, mated omega’s use proestrus as an excuse to behave like an overly affectionate house cat. They will establish physical contact with their mated pair, never leaving their side until they induce estrus. 

In the past, after the loss of their first born, Hide would immediately retreat to his parents house whenever he suspected he was about to go into heat. Therefore, Kaneki could only imagine how _painful_ and biologically _wrong_ it must’ve felt for Hide to have to endure those heat cycles on his own. 

Whenever that happened, the alpha would often hear from his mate’s fathers that Hide could oftentimes be heard retching, sometimes dry-heaving, from the other side of the bathroom door. They also shared with Kaneki that Hide would softly cry, probably not wanting to cause trouble for his parents by being too loud, and more often than not it would be the alpha’s name that he would say between broken sobs. 

Needless to say, those times had been absolutely unbearable and painful for both omega and alpha. But with the birth of Kenichi, everything was able to change for the better and Kaneki could admit that he was more than grateful for that, and he wouldn’t doubt it if Hide felt the same way. 

Without Kenichi, there would probably still be that awkward rift between his parents. Moreover, the couple wouldn’t be able to be together in such an intimate fashion, like they were right at this very moment. 

In the span of a few short hours, Hide slowly escalated into a full blown heat cycle, taking both Kaneki and their morality down with him. 

Needless to say, their vanilla session of affectionate cuddles, chaste kisses and the occasional kitten licks turned hot and heavy at the drop of a hat. 

Kaneki’s hands had gone from rubbing soothing circles into the omega’s hips to aggressively tearing the clothes off of his body, practically shredding the articles to ribbons in the process. However, Hide couldn’t find it in himself to really mind it, focusing instead on getting his alpha inside of him as quickly as possible. 

When an omega is in heat, terms such as ‘foreplay’ and ‘lovemaking’ no longer exist in the mated pairs vocabulary. Instead, both the alpha and omega’s heads are filled with nothing more than the primal urge to _breed, breed, **breed**_. Their bodies are no longer driven by passion and love for their partner, everything is now being done out of raw _instinct_.

“Fuck, what a beautiful smelling omega… You smell so good and ready to receive pups.” Kaneki sighed, taking position behind his omega. 

Despite their impulsive actions and the raging hormones clouding their thoughts, this does absolutely nothing in stopping anything vulgar from slipping off their tongues. However, with shame being overcast by ancient instincts, neither had time to feel embarrassed over any of it. 

Afterall, they both only had _one_ thing on their minds. 

“Yes! Knot me! Breed me, _alpha_!” Hide whined, relishing the feel of being mounted by his alpha. “Fill me with your seed. I want your pups. Oh, please. Please! Give them to me.” Looking over his shoulder at the alpha, the omega raked his blunt nails against the bed sheets, as if doing so would prompt his alpha to get inside of him faster. 

The couple had migrated to the bedroom once Kaneki noticed the overwhelming sweetness in Hide’s pheromones, which was leagues stronger than it had been earlier, telling Kaneki that Hide’s heat was dangerously close. 

Hide was so incredibly _wet_ that it was almost as if he had pissed himself from the excitement. This thought only served to arouse the alpha more - but by that point Kaneki’s erection was so stiff that it was almost painful. 

Nevertheless, at the back of his rut-muddled mind, Kaneki knew that the only thing that could possibly soothe this uncomfortable ache in his cock was the _warm, tight, welcoming_ feel of his omega’s pussy around him, gently fluttering and massaging his hard shaft. 

And _that_ was what his instincts were urging him to do.

_I’m sorry, Hide. I don’t think I can be gentle. Please forgive me_. The rational Kaneki thought as he leveled his cock, positioning it at the entrance to Hide’s soft and inviting birth canal, and without an ounce of hesitation the alpha shoved his member in all the way to the hilt. 

While his rational self was preoccupied with spilling a string of apologies, his alpha purred and absolutely _relished_ the broken scream the action had pulled from his omega. 

He watched the sudden curve appear in Hide’s spine with predatory hunger, the blonde resembling a bow that had been drawn taut, almost to it’s breaking point - and if there was _one_ thing that Kaneki’s alpha instincts wanted to do more than anything in this rut-muddled state, it was to _break_ the soft body beneath him. 

Kaneki wanted to _wreck_ this omega. However, before inner turmoil could strike, the blonde omega writhing beneath him made it known that this was something that he _very_ much wanted as well. 

Their gazes met when the blonde turned to look over his shoulder at his alpha, needless to say those amber eyes were glazed and pupils were fat with primal desire. “ _Mm_. Hurry up and move. Fuck me deep, alpha.” The blonde slowly swept his tongue over his bottom lip in a sensual manner, which Kaneki didn’t fail to notice. 

With that, the rational side of Kaneki retired to the depths of his subconscious, allowing nature to take its course because: who was he to deny this beautiful omega? 

The alpha braced both hands on the omega’s hips, which were remarkably wide and gorgeous, and without displaying an inch of restraint he withdrew with a snap of his hips before slamming them forward, sending his omega tumbling forward and scrambling for purchase. 

Nevertheless, Kaneki was quick to follow suit, continuing to pump his waist, the alpha snaked his arms around Hide’s waist before bending forward until his nose was planted in the omega’s spiky locks. At this point, he was practically choking on his mate’s intoxicating pheromones with every inhale. Next, Kaneki pressed his chest firmly against the omega’s back, slotting their bodies together. 

Neither could deny that they fit together so perfectly, like a jigsaw puzzle.

The cramped position failed to allow him to move like he desired, therefore after offering a few shallow thrusts and grinds, the alpha opted for a change of position. 

With a growl, he peeled himself off of the omega in favor of sitting with his spine straight while kneading his fingertips into the flesh of the blonde’s remarkable hips - his alpha took pleasure in noting how wide and perfect for bearing children the omega’s hips were. 

On the other hand, Hide was moaning like a seasoned porn star. 

“Harder, alpha. _Ahh_ …! Fuck my womb open with your… _mm_ , fat knot and fill me with your hot, thick baby batter! _Ah_! Make me pregnant! I want to have your babies!”

With such vulgar demands spilling out of his mouth, it was hard to register that this was the same omega who had actually once feared conceiving. Nevertheless, the Kaneki in this moment couldn’t bother to spare a thought for such trivial details, Hide’s wanton pleas were shooting straight to his dick, fanning the flames of his already peaked arousal. At this rate, he was going to reach climax soon. 

Kaneki didn’t know when it had started, but at some point during their mating Hide had reached under his belly so as to aggressively rub circles into his engorged clitoris. Judging by how erratic and clumsy the movement was, the alpha could safely assume that he too was teetering on the edge of orgasm. 

“So good…” Kaneki hissed, “… Gonna breed you good… _kuh_! Knock you up with my pups. I want you full of me.” Euphoria rushed to their brains when the alpha reached under Hide with the intentions of caressing the part of his belly that was just under his navel. As he exploratively touched the omega’s abdomen, he remembered how it felt when it was teeming with life, round and heavy to accommodate his growing pup. 

Instincts told him that he desperately wanted that again. 

He wanted to make this omega pregnant again. 

“ _Alpha_ …! _Mm_ … I’m gonna—” Hide suddenly cried, his breath hitched and his body became rigid as he was racked with what Kaneki assumed to be the first wave of orgasm. 

Rest assured, the alpha’s suspicions were confirmed when the omega’s insides reflexively squeezed and tightened, coiling around the hard shaft inside of him in an effort to milk Kaneki’s cock and reap everything that it had to offer. 

Now, Hide wasn’t typically known as the type to squirt during orgasm on a regular basis, but during his heat the blonde was notorious for making a mess of whatever surface they happened to be fucking on top of. 

Kaneki watched through bleary vision as the fragile body beneath him trembled slightly, the omega gasping every now and then to catch his breath, it was obvious he had been rendered weak from his recent climax. However, the display only served to excite the alpha more. 

Pressure pooled in his gut, it felt like a hot spring coiled tight, and it was looking to be released by any means. 

“Who said you could cum?” Kaneki growled, and with one hand still squeezing Hide’s hip, he suddenly had the omega pinned to the sheets by the back of his neck. The action earned a whine from his mate. 

“ _K-Kanekiiii~_ ” Hide purred as he weakly clawed at the sheets, the afterglow of his recent orgasm making him aware of his surroundings for a brief moment. The omega’s cries escalated, rising in pitch and volume as Kaneki pounded into him with abandon. 

After several powerful thrusts, which had completely knocked the breath out of the omega’s lungs, Kaneki’s hand migrated to his throat. The grip on Hide’s nape was quickly traded for the omega’s jaw instead. Afterwards, the hand that had been on Hide’s hip slipped around his waist, and in the blink of an eye Kaneki pulled Hide flush against his chest, sitting the boneless body of the omega up on his knees. 

Hide’s amber eyes went wide, his mouth following suit, when the new position allowed Kaneki to sink further inside with each press of his hips. The omega immediately grappled onto his alpha’s powerful arms for purchase, his blunt nails biting into and raking against the flesh there, leaving angry red lines in his wake. However, Kaneki was obviously too distracted with chasing his pleasure to focus on the pain. 

“Kaneki! T-too deep…!” Hide managed a breathless whine, his lungs deflating when he felt the crown of the alpha’s large cock just barely breach his cervix. He had recently climaxed, which meant that his sensitivity levels were through the roof, the stimulation of his cervix was making his vision swim - it made Hide wonder if this was making his eyes go cross. 

He didn’t know when it had started, but the overstimulation had actually caused hot tears to start spilling down the omega’s flushed cheeks. 

Needless to say, the incapacitated omega allowed himself to become nothing more than dead weight, leaning all of his weight back into his mate who didn’t hesitate to support every ounce of him. 

Hide didn’t doubt it if he was appearing very shameless and perverted at the moment, his eyes having rolled to the back of his head at the exact same time his jaw had gone slack, allowing his tongue to loll out of his mouth. 

Hide exhaled a shaky moan when he felt the rough crown of teeth grazing against the juncture between his neck and shoulder. As expected, he found his alpha slurping at the stretch of skin there hungrily. 

“ _Mm_. I-I can f-feel you a-all the way up in my womb…! Feels g-good… _More_ , alpha! Bust me open even more!” The omega sputtered dumbly as he slipped back into an estrus-induced trance, his head falling back against Kaneki’s shoulder. The position gave his mate better access to his neck, the alpha not hesitating to take advantage and run the bed of his tongue up and down the column of the omega’s exposed throat. 

As Hide hooked one of his arms behind the alpha’s head, he allowed his vacant hand to slowly drift down so as to eclipse the hand that was resting on his flat stomach. 

Hide whined as the grip on his jaw suddenly tightened, the alpha warranted his undivided attention when he turned the omega’s head so as to meet him for a heated kiss. 

The kiss was clumsy and aggressive. 

When Kaneki wasn’t clicking their teeth together in a frenzied effort to totally dominate Hide’s mouth, he was forcing his saliva down the omega’s throat. 

Nevertheless, it wasn’t as if Hide disliked it when Kaneki spat in his mouth during sex, even when he wasn’t in heat. 

Even in his drunken state Hide didn’t fail to notice the faltering movements of the alpha’s hips, meaning he was dangerously close. 

“Gonna cum… Fuck, fuck, _fuck_!” The alpha hotly gritted out into the omega’s mouth. “Gonna stuff you with my knot… Here it comes…! Get pregnant you bitch!” 

Kaneki delivered a particularly deep thrust before going completely rigid. On the other hand, a shiver of excitement raced down Hide’s spine at the raw gasp that left Kaneki’s lips in that moment. 

Hide could barely utter a proper cry at the ballooning pressure between his hips. Something warm and familiar was spilling into him, spreading through his abdomen. Hide immediately recognized it to be Kaneki’s precious seed. 

_I’m gonna get pregnant._ With that thought in mind, accompanied by the feel of Kaneki’s knot rapidly swelling inside of him, locking them together and trapping his essence, Hide was able to reach his second orgasm, drenching the sheets and Kaneki’s thighs in the process. However, Hide found that his exhausted alpha couldn’t be bothered by such trivial matters. 

Without a word, and with his knot cementing him inside of Hide for the time being, when he was finally able to steady his breathing, Kaneki slowly and very carefully maneuvered them so they were laying on their sides on the filthy bed spread. He was curled around the omega like a shell. 

There was a moment of silence as Kaneki reflected on the warning issued by Nishiki the day prior:

_“If this leads to Nagachika getting knocked up again, I swear that I will personally come over here and tie his tubes myself.”_

The alpha couldn’t stop the sigh of relief from creeping up on him. He was utterly grateful to the contraceptive injections Hide had been receiving from the doctor these past few years, which was typically done in preparation for emergencies such as these. 

Kaneki was immediately pulled from his thoughts when he felt his mate stir.

“Sorry. Is it uncomfortable?” Kaneki asked on impulse. 

Hide sighed before replying with a slow shake of his head, “Nah. It just sucks because I can’t kiss you like this…” Hide mumbled, sounding disheartened. With that said, the alpha felt the omega press against him in what he assumed was supposed to be an act of affection. 

Kaneki chuckled at this before resting his chin against the omega’s dark roots. “Just bear with it for now.” His voice rumbled in his chest, which sent pleasant vibrations through Hide’s back. It was almost enough to lull the omega to sleep. 

“I s’pose we should get some sleep while it’s calmed down, huh?” Hide sighed, his eyes fluttering shut as he snuggled against his alpha. He relished it when Kaneki protectively snaked his arms around the omega’s abdomen. 

“Yeah. I guess so.” Kaneki hummed his agreement into the omega’s hair, pressing his lips against his mate’s crown. 

“Then, goodnight, Kaneki.” Hide smiled, nuzzling his alpha lovingly. “I love you.” 

“Goodnight, Hide. I love you, too.”

**  
**

«««~*~»»»

****  


The couple was allowed a refractory period of about four hours before the second wave of Hide’s heat hit - harder than the last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta while handing my phone back to me: Fuck yeah Hide just made an ahegao!!
> 
> … This is why I love my beta.


	9. Puppies For Persuasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaneki has a talk with his very curious child while they wait for Kimi and Nishiki. 
> 
> This chapter actually takes place before the previous chapter, so this is before Hide goes into heat. I wanted to do this at the beginning of the last chapter, but decided to make it an 8.5 type chapter instead. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Papa, why do I have to go away with aunt Kimi and uncle Nishio to their house?” Kenichi whined. 

The couple were currently in the foyer with Kaneki knelt before his son, tying his little shoelaces into little knots. 

The alpha sighed, he figured this question was coming sooner or later with how curious the growing Kenichi had become. Moreover, the child had probably come to realize how he was expected to stay at the Nishiki household every six months or so, whenever Hide went into heat - he had adopted that perceptive behavior from his mother, no doubt. 

Nevertheless, he responded to his son without raising his head, “Because mama isn’t feeling well.” 

“Then why do _you_ get to stay? Won’t papa get sick too?” Kenichi asked, obviously dissatisfied with that answer. 

The alpha took a moment to leaf through his thoughts, trying to find an excuse without divulging too much information to the child. Fortunately, he was quickly able to come up with something. 

“Papa needs to stay in order to help mama feel better.” He stated simply. “Also, papa’s strong so he won’t get sick.” 

“Then I wanna stay and help mama get better too! I can be strong!” Kenichi huffed. “I don’t wanna go with uncle Nishio and aunt Kimi! I wanna stay with you and mama. _Please_ , papa.” 

He watched with a pout as his father rose to his full height before him, the alpha taking to his feet and towering over the small boy with a heavy sigh. “Kenichi, I’m sorry but you can’t stay here while mama is sick, okay?”

“Well, um, what if I promise to stay in my room until mama gets better then?” Kenichi attempted to compromise. However, Kaneki wasn’t having it. Between the two of them, the alpha was fully aware that Hide wasn’t coming down with any ordinary illness, this was his _heat_ , and having Kenichi around during this time would be a _huge_ liability. 

Firstly, both parents would be heavily under the influence of Hide’s estrus for most of the time, and would therefore be unable to provide the proper care for the child. 

Secondly, Kaneki didn’t wish to permanently traumatize the child should he accidentally stumble across the sight of them mating.

The alpha shook his head, he made it a point to maintain a calm and clear tone as he spoke to the child. “No, Kenichi. You have to go with Kimi and Nishio.”

“But why?” Kenichi huffed in response. 

“I already told you, mama doesn’t want to get you sick.” 

“Cause it can kill me if I get it?” 

“Well, no, it won’t kill you but it can make you very, very sick. You don’t want to feel all bad and sick and throw up all over the place, do you?” Kaneki asked, his voice laced with concern. 

Kenichi blinked up at his father. “It will make me throw up?” 

Kaneki nodded his affirmation, “That’s right.”

Kenichi was silent for a moment. He appeared to be contemplating something during this time. 

He arched a brow. “Is mama throwing up?” 

The alpha shrugged, uncertain. “Well, not yet, but he might.” 

With that said, the child sighed in defeat. “Okay, papa.” He muttered. His eyes had immediately shifted from holding his father’s gaze to staring at his feet, which he awkwardly shuffled about. 

“That’s a good boy.” Kaneki smiled before reaching out to playfully tousle his son’s hair. “Maybe if you’re good, Kimi and Nishio will let you play with their new puppy.” 

Needless to say, the child’s head instantly shot up at his father’s words, those large silver eyes, which mirrored Kaneki’s own, were wide and filled with excitement as he locked on to his father’s gaze.

“A puppy?!” He excitedly parroted. 

“ _Mhm_.” The alpha nodded. 

With renewed energy, the child immediately started jumping up and down. “I wanna play with their puppy! What’s its name?” 

“Well, I don’t know but maybe you can ask uncle Nishio and aunt Kimi when they get here.” As if on cue, the alpha received a notification on his phone that told him he received a message. He checked the device to find it was a message from Kimi telling him that the couple had arrived. This prompted the alpha to take hold of the handle to the child’s single suitcase, which held everything that he would be needing for the week. 

As he was ushered towards the front door, Kenichi excitedly scooped up Wan Wan who was laying nearby, he hugged the stuffed dog to his chest as he beamed up at his father. It was a smile that Kaneki was very familiar with, while also being his ultimate weakness. In other words, his smile was an exact replica of Hide’s own. “Maybe Wan Wan and him can be friends!” 

“I’m sure they will.” Kaneki assured. As he extended a hand for the door handle, he took the liberty of asking, “Are you ready?” 

This time around, he was very happy with the eager nod he received in response. 

“What’re we waiting for? Let’s go already, papa!” 

**  
**

«««~*~»»»

**  
**

“If this leads to Nagachika getting knocked up again, I swear that I will personally come over here and tie his tubes myself.” Nishiki warned, emphasizing how serious he was about his statement with a harsh glare sent in Kaneki’s direction. 

Kaneki simply chuckled at this. However, he failed to notice the inquiry etched in his son’s expression at Nishiki’s threat. 

“Papa, what does ‘knocked up’ mean?” Kenichi blinked owlishly at his father. 

The alpha sighed before fixing Nishiki with a pointed look, to which the other alpha pretended not to notice. “It means to get pregnant, but it’s not a very nice way of saying it.” 

“What does ‘pregnant’ mean?” The child countered once more, his puzzled expression unchanging. 

“It’s when a baby is in a mama’s belly.” Kaneki explained simply. 

He couldn’t quite comprehend the reasoning behind it, but Kenichi’s expression seemed to light up at his words, his earlier look of confusion was traded for one of surprise and excitement. Nevertheless, the alpha quickly understood when Kenichi took the liberty of voicing his astonishment. 

“Mama’s gonna have a baby?!” He gasped. 

Nevertheless, before Kaneki had the chance to dismiss the question, Nishiki had spoken up in his stead. 

“Let’s hope not.” He grumbled before fleeing the scene, purposely turning a blind eye to the father’s obvious distress. Kaneki wasn’t allowed to clarify how Hide was definitely _not_ pregnant as his child suddenly started inquiring about where babies come from, much to the father’s horror. 

Fortunately, he was able to send the child off without giving a clear answer - but he couldn’t help but wonder for how long would he be able to avoid the topic. 

Needless to say, for everyone’s sake, Kaneki sincerely hoped that after spending a week with their puppy, Kenichi would forget about the whole ordeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the art of persuading a defiant four year old without getting frustrated. For sure, Kaneki has got this whole papa thing mastered *nod nod*
> 
> Also, that last part with Ken-Ken asking Kaneki where babies come from was a guilty pleasure. Nice, Nishiki. Real nice.


End file.
